The 65th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges Wine Auction will take place on 8 March at the Château du Clos de Vougeot. This is an opportunity to shine a light on a relatively little-known event that the house of Albert Bichot has been making more accessible since 2009, by offering the chance to purchase its cuvées starting from a single bottle…
How did a native of Nancy such as yourself come to join Albert Bichot?
Behind this collaboration lies, of course, a deep interest in wine, but also a certain level of expertise – the outcome of what was, in truth, a fairly classic marketing career path. A business school education, more than ten years applying my skills within the wines and spirits sector, with several periods spent in Burgundy, notably at the Château de Chassagne-Montrachet, followed by the creation in 2006 of my own consultancy, Monogramme, of which Albert Bichot became a client.
The Hospices de Beaune and Nuits-Saint-Georges auctions must quickly have become central topics, correct?
Indeed. With the acquisition, on average, of nearly 25% of the lots offered, Albert Bichot is the leading buyer at both events. As a brief anecdote, our renowned domaine du Clos Frantin stands on the very site of the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges, where the original hospital was founded in 1270, and we are quite literally neighbours of the Hospices’ winery. That said, in the early 2000s access to these auctions was complex: it required the purchase of an entire barrel. Transactions were still largely conducted through personal contacts and established networks. We wanted to make these auctions more accessible. From 2009 onwards, we launched the website hospices-beaune.com by Albert Bichot, enabling those who wish to acquire a selection of wines by the bottle, by a fraction of a barrel, or by the whole barrel. After all, it only takes 288 orders to purchase a barrel – crowdfunding ahead of its time.
How can buyers access these offers in practical terms?
By registering via the dedicated link. Prospective buyers can then choose one or more bottles from our selection of Nuits-Saint-Georges Village 2025 or Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru 2025; or, for the more committed enthusiast, opt for a fraction of a barrel or an entire barrel, selected from among the 19 wines available from this same vintage. They indicate their maximum hammer price, and we take care of the purchase and the ageing, before delivering the wines in autumn 2027.
Who are the clients of this service, offered exclusively by Albert Bichot?
Their profile mirrors that of Burgundy wine lovers more generally. They are hedonists, not necessarily experts, who are also keen, in this instance, to support a charitable cause. Each year, around 200 clients, living mainly abroad, in Burgundy or in Paris, seek to acquire a tangible piece of Burgundy’s historic heritage.
Many highlight the quality of your support…
Beyond the selection of wines – which requires numerous tastings right up to the auction – and their organic aging, conducted with the full expertise of Albert Bichot’s oenologists, we look after our clients in several ways. First, through information and education. Before and during the event, a wide range of content is developed for the website and our social media channels, guiding clients and allowing them to experience the auctions from within, should they be unable to attend in person. We also offer a variety of bespoke services: delivery in wooden cases, conversion into magnums, jeroboams or larger formats, and personalised labels from six bottles purchased. Finally, we support our buyers well beyond the auction itself, answering practical questions such as, “May I open the 2018 vintage this weekend, delivered in 2020?” This is the advantage of operating within a major house such as Albert Bichot: we have the resources to match our ambitions.